Mike, Lu, and Og Meet Anastasia
by PerkyGoth14
Summary: The Megaville League is in need of an important mission in Russia and it's up to Mike, Lu, and Og to travel to old time Russia to meet Mike's ancestor who is the famous Anastasia. The three must make it so Anastasia meets Dmitri to meet her grandmother and make their family whole and destroy the evil Rasputin.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: The beginning of my Mike's Adventures series. Everyone belongs to their respective owners, Don Bluth and Cartoon Network. Read &amp; Review! **

* * *

In the Megaville League, Mike, Lu, and Og came to see Dexter in his private lab of the league. They had never had their own mission together before and would be a good idea to give them some experience. This case was also very personal for Mike's case, it involved a very distant ancestor of hers on her father's side.

* * *

"I'm related to Anastasia Romonov?" Mike sounded very surprised once she received this news and the boy genius told the three why he wanted to see them in specific.

"It's not fair!" Lu folded her arms. "How come Mike gets to be related to a princess? She's not even royalty type!"

Mike glanced at her, then looked to Dexter. "So, what's up in the Romonov clan?"

"It's Rasputin," Dexter informed. "This is a very grave and big mission for you three, but I'm sure you all can do it. Mike, your ancestor Anastasia was separated from her grandmother and they need to be reunited."

"Why is that?" Lu had to ask.

"It's a very long story," Og informed, seeming familiar with this story, surprising his cousin and friends with his knowledge despite being a mere island native boy.

"You know it?" Dexter asked him.

Og nodded. "It's one of the books in my mother's personal library when not writing the Albonquetine Island history and the Cuzzlewitz's End."

"Well, perhaps you could tell them a lot better than I could." Dexter suggested.

"Gladly," Og nodded, then came to the two girls he was rather close with, but neither in a romantic sense, since Lu was his cousin and Mike was only a friend. "There was a time, not very long ago at around 1916, the world was an enchanted place full of parties and grand celebrations and Nicholas was the Czar of Imperial Russia. It was the anniversary of the family's rule."

"How many years?" Mike asked.

"300." Og informed.

"I think that's how long we've had our island." Lu commented.

"We'll have to ask Mom about that," Og shrugged, then continued his story. "Nicholas's mother was very found of her youngest granddaughter named Anastasia. The old woman was going to return to Paris, but her granddaughter begged her not to, but gave something to make the separation easier for the both of them."

"What was it?" Lu asked in vast interest. "Diamonds? Rubies?"

"A music box," Og replied. "It played a song that Anastasia knew as her and her grandmother's lullaby, so whenever Anastasia would hear the tune, she could think of her grandmother."

"Oh, how sweet." Mike smiled in delight.

"It read 'Together in Paris', but they would never be together in Paris," Og told the story. "A dark shadow had descended upon the clan revealing to be the one known as Rasputin. They thought he was a holy man, but he was a fraud, he was power hungry and dangerous!"

Mike and Lu held each other in slight fear. Mike looked determined and angry however while Lu clenched her teeth in slight fear. What if they were to run into this Rasputin and he causes a lot of misfortune for them?

"Consumed by his hate for Nicholas and his family, he sold his soul for the power to destroy them," Og told the story, sounding more graphic the more words he would tell the girls. "From that moment on, the spark in their unhappiness fanned over the country and soon would destroy their lives forever! So many lives were destroyed that night. What had always been was now gone forever."

"Wh-What about Anastasia?" Lu asked frantically. "Did her grandmother and her ever reunite?"

Og hung his head and shook it no. "Her grandmother never saw her again..."

"Oh..." Mike and Lu hung their heads then, even if this was such a long time ago, it was still very sad and tear jerking.

"And that is why you three must go on this mission, I got you all backpacks," Dexter took out a pink backpack for Lu and a brown one for Og as Mike already had her purple one. "You will bring these bags with you on any adventure you will take."

"What's in them?" Mike asked as she opened her bag to reveal other things than her school supplies.

"There are some ear piece translators," Dexter informed. "In case you go to non-English speaking areas, your words and their words will be so you all understand them. There are also disguise watches for you all to wear so you can blend into the surroundings of where your adventures will take place."

"I helped perfect that." Otto chimed in.

"Right, Otto would know," Dexter gave a nod to one of his best friends in the league. "Your mission is to make sure a man named Dmitri finds Anastasia and return her to her grandmother so the Romonovs can be whole again or else..."

"Or else what?" Lu asked.

"Or else Rasputin will make sure the last of the Romonovs will die," Dexter explained. "And if that happens, then John Mavinsky's family will be no more and Mike herself will disappear from existence."

Mike grabbed her throat in slight worry. "Gosh..."

"But how do we get there?" Og asked.

"With this," Otto handed a special wrist-watch to give Mike specifically since she was the more responsible one of the trio. "This will transport you to any time, but I set it so you can only go back to old time Russia to meet Anastasia and Dmitri and report back to the Megaville League as soon as your mission is over. Not too soon and not too late."

"Right," Mike secured the watch around her wrist. "Anything else?"

"Oh, Mike, do not tell Anastasia who you are," Dexter advised cautiously to the red-haired girl. "If Anastasia were to find out, it could jeopardize your mission. Also, don't tell her that she is who she is right away."

"What do you mean?" Lu asked.

"Anastasia lost her memories after the separation," Og explained. "She doesn't know she's Anastasia, she just believes she is a woman named Anya. Dmitri is to tell her and reunite her with her grandmother, not us."

"Right." Dexter and Otto nodded in confirmation.

"Okay," Mike used her special device to turn the three of them dressed for winter with hats, coats, scarves, gloves, and boots all matching their favorite colors, red for Mike, green for Lu, and blue for Og. "Come on, guys, we gotta go."

"Let's go then and get this over with," Lu sounded very serious about this adventure mission now. "I wonder if I'll get knighted for this."

"Don't hold your breath." Og muttered.

Dexter and Otto waved to Mike, Lu, and Og as they set Mike's watch and hit the top to transport them to the early 20th century. In a flash of white light, the three kids were gone and set for their mission. They were now leaving the Megaville League and on their way to Imperial Russia.


	2. Chapter 2

Mike, Lu, and Og were transported to the location they were asked to go, now dressed in winter clothes. Lu and Og instantly froze as they weren't expecting cold climates due to living on an island all their lives. They were still adjusting to it and remembered the Christmas they spent in New York with Mike back in the foreign exchange program. They were at an orphanage.

"This kinda looks like where I went after I found out I was adopted." Mike looked at the orphanage.

"How can anyone live in a place like that?" Lu asked.

"Not our choice, we don't have parents around." Mike reminded her aggressively.

The orphanage door then opened and there came a red-headed woman with an older, shorter woman. Mike, Lu, and Og quickly ducked down behind a bush as the two were leaving. Mike looked specifically to the redhead. That must've been her ancestor, Anastasia. She still couldn't believe the famous Anastasia was related to her and she was now going to help her make their family complete.

"I got you a job in the fish factory," the creepy old woman told Mike's unknown ancestor. "You go straight down the path until you get to the fork in the road, go left-"

"Bye!" the orphaned woman was waving to all her friends as she had to leave now. Probably outgrew being an orphan and missing the chance of being taken into a foster home, unlike her descendant she would never know about.

"I thought your ancestor was a princess, not some factory worker!" Lu called out.

"Shush, _Princess_..." Mike darted her eyes at her frenemy. Mike was never sure whether to like Lu or not, but once she found out that Lu actually wanted to be friends with her and found Hermione Cuzzlewitz to actually be a terrible person, they formed a friendship, but there were times when they would be at each other's throats almost like sisters.

Mike, Lu, and Og had their translators on before they left so they wouldn't have to worry about hearing an odd foreign language like Russian once they got there in case they automatically ran into someone. The elder woman who was called 'Phlegmenkoff' was giving 'Anya' instructions. The trio listened closely and heard about a path to take Anya out of this town and into Paris.

"Paris..." Mike, Lu, and Og whispered together.

"Together in Paris..." Mike remembered that from the story Og told her and Lu.

* * *

Anya left the orphanage and went down the steps. She then spotted Mike, Lu, and Og. "I haven't seen you three around here... Are you new?"

"A-Actually, we're here to help you." Lu spoke up.

"Help me?" Anya raised an eyebrow. "With what?"

"Get to Paris," Mike answered rather quickly. "We overheard your conversation about going there instead of a fish factory. The truth is... We want to go to Paris too! Isn't that right, guys?"

Og quickly nodded.

"Why go with me?" Anya asked. "You don't even know me."

"Actually..." Lu was about to say they found out about her before they left, but Mike quickly covered her mouth.

"We just want to help," Mike said to her ancestor. "Please, let us help you, Anya."

Anya looked at them long and hard. "Okay... You can come with me. But nothing suspicious, okay? You guys are a little strange."

"Ignorance is bliss..." Og recited.

"All right, come along then," Anya allowed them to go with her as they walked away from the orphanage. "My name's Anya."

"Anya?" Mike asked.

"Yeah," Anya shrugged. "I don't know why and how I got here, but everyone just called me Anya."

"What do you mean you don't know how?" Lu asked.

"Memory loss?" Og asked.

"Yeah," Anya nodded. "I guess I belong in Paris because I got this..." she showed them her necklace which read 'Together in Paris'. "I feel like it's a clue to help me find my family. It's mostly why I wanna go there instead of that gross fish factory."

"I'm sure you're right." Og answered, implying she was on the right track to believe that.

Anya scoffed, but she grew to like the three kids. "So, who are you three?"

"I'm Mike, this is Lu, and this quiet kid is Og," the tomboy introduced them. "So, Anya, you think you'll find your family?"

Anya shrugged. "I don't know..." She then mumbled about her caretaker as she walked with her new friends.

The four then came up to signs in the road as it lightly snowed. One sign pointed left to the _**FISHERMAN'S VILLAGE**_ where Anya was supposed to go, but to the right, there was a sign which read _**ST. PETERSBURG**_.

"Well, I know that's to the left," Anya sighed a little sadly. "I'll be Anya the orphan forever."

"Come on, don't give up," Mike soothed, then took the necklace. "Remember what this says?"

Anya put her hand on it, smiling down a little to the girl, already feeling close with her. "If I go right, maybe I could find..." she paused to think and maybe feel closer to the right side than the left where she was destined to go. "Whoever gave me this necklace must've loved me."

"I know she...Or he did." Og smiled softly as he played with his nose ring.

Anya smiled, then frowned instantly. "This is crazy! Me, go to Paris?"

"Anya, calm down!" Lu was a little overwhelmed by the woman's sudden frustration.

"There has to be a meaning behind this and you guys don't know anything!" Anya yelled, then shouted out to the empty and gloomy winter sky. "Send me a sign! A hint! Anything!" She sat down on the log with her friends next to her.

"Hey, calm down, it's going to be okay..." Mike coaxed.

"How would you know?" Anya sighed. "You're just a kid."

* * *

There was a tiny whining noise heard. Everyone looked and saw a kind of mutt dog. The dog came up, grabbing Anya's scarf and ran off with it, grabbing everyone's attention.

"I don't have time to play right now, okay?" Anya was amused at first, but quickly got serious again. "I'm waiting for a sign."

The dog looked up and barked.

"Maybe that's your sign?" Lu shrugged.

Anya grew annoyed and tried to reach her scarf away from the dog, but the dog kept being playful like a typical puppy with a new master. "Give me that!" Anya grumbled as she tried to grab her scarf away from the tiny dog. "One of you get him!"

Lu and Og were about to get the dog, but Mike advised they just let him go. This might be a good thing, she wasn't really sure. Dexter and Otto didn't say anything about a dog being involved in this. The dog kept playing with Anya as she tried to get her scarf and the dog wrapped her scarf around her legs and made the woman trip into the snow against the signs. The puppy kept being playful and seemed to even know Anya should go to St. Petersburg.

"I think he wants you to go that way." Og pointed to the right, his best friends were a goat, pig, and porcupine so he could read animal body language, sometimes he could with Lu's pet turtle, Lancelot.

"Oh, great!" Anya nearly gave in. "The dog wants me to go to St. Petersburg!"

"I still think he's your sign," Mike guessed. "I mean, why else would there be a dog here in the middle of nowhere?"

Anya thought about that for a moment and sighed. "Okay... I can take a hint..."

The puppy then gave the scarf back to its rightful owner and smiled as he nearly wagged his tiny tail. Anya then decided to walk down the St. Petersburg path.

"Come on, guys." Anya told her three new friends.

Mike, Lu, and Og smiled at this, then followed Anya down the path she was destined to go down.

"Snow is so weird..." Lu stared at the white stuff around as they walked. "It's like cold, wet, white sand."

"Except you don't sweat with this." Og reminded her.

"Hey, princesses don't sweat!" Lu glared at him.

"Knock it off, you two, we're on important business to help... Anya." Mike said to her friends.

* * *

The puppy seemed to be getting tired easy. Anya turned to him and picked him up for warmth and comfort.

"What's his name?" Mike asked.

"Don't know," Anya shrugged. "What should I name him?"

"The Handsome Pooch?" Lu suggested.

"Canis Lupus Familaris?" Og put in.

Mike rolled her eyes at those names, then hummed. "I once had a pet palm tree named Petey."

Anya then thought herself for a moment. "Pooka?"

Mike smiled then. "Pooka's a nice name."

The puppy yipped a little as if he liked the name too. It would be his name from now on as they kept walking. It felt like it took forever, but the three kids, the young woman, and the dog were up the hill after their treacherous passing through the snow instead of going to the fish factory. They were on the way to St. Petersburg. Little did Anya know was that Mike, Lu, and Og were leading her to her destiny.


	3. Chapter 3

Mike, Lu, Og, Anastasia, and Pooka made it to the train station to get to their rightful destination of St. Petersburg.

"Four tickets to Paris, please." Anya asked as she carried Pooka while Mike, Lu, and Og were beside her.

"Exit visa?" the ticket man asked.

"Exit visa?" Anya wasn't sure what that meant.

Lu and Og looked to Mike who only shrugged her shoulders as she didn't seem to know either.

"No exit visa, no tickets." the man informed them. He shut the window and just shut the four of them out.

Lu snorted. "How rude!"

Anya looked very disappointed and lost now. If she couldn't get to Paris, she couldn't find out who gave her the necklace and why. Mike was trying to think of a way to help her ancestor without revealing anything to her. There was an elderly woman who caught their attention and they all looked to her in curiosity.

"See Dmitri," the woman whispered. "He can help."

Mike's eyes lit up at the name Dmitri. That was the man they had to get with Anastasia. "It sounds like a great idea, right, guys?"

"Huh?" Og asked.

"Oh, yeah!" Lu beamed, then smiled and nudged Og. "Remember, Og? This Dmitri guy can help us!"

"Oh, yeah, right!" Og then understood and nodded.

"Where can we find him?" Anya asked.

"At the old palace," the old woman replied. "But... You didn't hear that from me..."

"Then who did we hear it from?" Lu raised an eyebrow.

"Never mind that," Anya said to the brown-haired girl. "Come on."

The woman urged them to go and they did. They had to meet this one known as Dmitri. Whoever he was. Mike felt like he was a major importance in their mission though. She had a gut feeling and the way the woman warned them about him.

* * *

Anya, Mike, Lu, and Og weren't exactly sure where to go. They asked along some people about the man called Dmitri. Luckily for them, more people knew who he was and helped them along the way to their journey in finding him. They came up to the old palace like the first old woman told them where he was and wondered why they had to go there. It looked a little battered.

"This place is a dump." Lu scoffed.

"Well, it has a good reason for that..." Og nearly narrowed his eyes at her.

"How can we get in here?" Mike came up as it looked like it was forbidden to even enter, though they were assigned to come through there.

Pooka found his own way. He stuck his head in through the boards and was able to get inside the palace. Anya and her new friends saw this, then they realized they had to go after the dog now. Pooka had climbed in, but the humans were left out.

"Stand back." Anya told her friends, then had the strength to pull the boards away and help them in.

The three kids blinked, then followed her as they were now able to get inside. However, once they got in, they couldn't find Pooka and he seemed to be lost now.

"Ugh, where is that dog?" Mike asked as they kept looking around.

* * *

They all then saw a set of stairs and decided to maybe go up them and continue to explore. Anya took her scarf off as this place was a lot more warm than it was outside.

"Hello?" Anya called, her voice echoing. "Anybody home?"

"Gotcha." Lu found Pooka and picked him up and held him tight in her arms to keep him from going further as she looked around. "Wow, this place looks fancy... I wish my room were like this..."

Anya went in with her friends as they saw a very dusty and unclean part of the palace. There was a long table with dishes on the table. Anya picked up one of the plates, blowing the dust off and getting a better and closer look at it. Mike and Og were looking around themselves. Maybe there was something in here to jog Anya's memory back into place for their sake.

"This place!" Anya cried out after a long break of silence and examining. "It's like a memory from a dream..." She continued to look in the plate and stepped down from the stairs.

The kids watched Anya leaving, so they decided to follow her so she wouldn't get hurt. She came into a room that looked wonderful and magical. It happened to be the old ballroom of the palace. Anya took off her hat and gloves as she was singing to herself about her placement in the world. Mike, Lu, Og, and Pooka watched her from the staircase and smiled, little did they know was that they had some company.

Anya found herself in a fantasy. She actually felt like an aristocrat like she once was, but didn't even know or realize it. She felt like she actually belonged and was just expressing herself. Lu even refrained from jealousy that she wasn't a true princess like she told everyone she was back on her home island.

"Once upon a December~..." Anya softly sang to herself.

"Hey!" a sharp voice called. "What are you doing in here!?"

The kids woke up instantly and looked all around them. Anya was surprised too as she was pulled from her thoughts. There were two men, one portly one and a rather thin one. Anya then quickly found Mike, Lu, and Og and decided to run with them. Neither of them knew who those two were, but they were probably in a lot of trouble for trespassing. Pooka jumped from Lu's arms and ran off with them. Anya didn't have anywhere else for them to run, but they all stopped in front of the portrait of Anastasia.

"Now, how did you get in-" the skinnier man glared at them, then saw them against the portrait and noticed something. The urchin girl looked a lot like the royal Anastasia. "Here...?"

Pooka sniffed the two men, wondering whether to trust them or not.

"Excuse me, children-" the portly man was about to scold the four, then was pulled by the shorter man as they had a small, quiet conversation with each other.

"Excuse me," Og spoke up. "Is one of you Dmitri?"

"Perhaps," the shorter, skinnier man chuckled. "That depends on who's looking for him."

"My name is Anya," the oldest one said. "These are my new friends, Mike, Lu, and Og. We need travel papers. They say you're the man to see... Even though we can't tell you who said that."

"Yeah..." Lu agreed, even if that was really confusing for her native mind to ponder, it must have been a big city thing, she decided to say nothing more to avoid overwhelming her brain.

Dmitri kept observing, mostly Anya. He was circling around her and seemed attached to her.

This aggravated Mike. "What do you think you are doing!?"

"What were you?" Anya got aggravated too as Dmitri seemed to be studying her and hovering around her in a predator-like manner. "A vulture in another life?"

"I'm s-sorry, Anneya, Mitch, Lana, and Ork." Dmitri said finally, which broke him of his craziness temporarily.

"It's Anya, Mike, Lu, and Og," the woman corrected, still a little peeved with this man they didn't know until right now.

"Anya, Mike, Lu, and Og," Dmitri corrected, but still focused on the woman. "It's just... It's just you look an awful lot like... Never mind. Now, um, you said something about travel papers?"

"Who does she look like?" Lu demanded. "Tell her!"

"Just forget it," Dmitri put his hand up to the island girl.

Anya decided to tell this odd man about the journey she's been making with her new friends. "We'd like to go to Paris."

"You'd like to go to Paris?" Dmitri nearly echoed.

"Yes," Og replied, speaking up for himself since he rarely spoke to anyone, especially to anyone he didn't know. "We need to go there, it's very important for Anya here... We're going with her as her friends, colleagues if you will..." He explained, trying not to expose how they actually knew Anya with Dexter and Otto's orders.

"Who is this here?" Dmitri noticed Pooka.

The dog smiled at him and licked his face. Mike, Lu, and Og hoped this meant they could trust Dmitri for now. They were destined to, but he seemed shady based on how they knew him so far.

"Oh, he likes me." Dmitri smiled. "Nice dog... Now, let me ask you something... Anya, was it, is there a last name with that?"

"What's a last name?" Lu asked Mike.

"Well, you know," Mike shrugged. "The second part of your name, or if you have a middle name, the third and last part. Like mine's Mavinsky. I always call you guys the Albonquetines because you're from the Albonquetine Islands."

"Just like Hermione, Haggis, and Baggis are known as the Cuzzlewitz." Og understood with a nod.

"Oh, okay then, that's cool, I guess." Lu shrugged, crossing her arms, but had a smile.

"Well, actually, this is gonna sound crazy," Anya answered to Dmitri's question while the kids talked amongst themselves. "I don't know my last name, but I was found wandering around when I was eight-years-old."

"Before that," Dmitri added. "Before you were eight?"

Anya sighed, feeling slightly frustrated with his endless questions. "Look, I know it's strange, but I don't remember! I have very few memories from my past."

Dmitri looked as though he had an idea in his seemingly cunning mind. "Hm... T-That's perfect!"

"Well, I do have one clue, however," Anya went to her new younger friends. "And that is Paris."

"Paris..." Dmitri whispered once he caught a glimpse of Anya's necklace.

"Right." Anya nodded.

"Can you two help us or not?" Lu demanded. "We've been here forever!"

"Vlad," Dmitri looked to the portly man who was with him. "Vlad, tickets?"

The man, Vlad, nodded and took out tickets for all of them once he and Dmitri went to observe them with him.

Dmitri turned to the four with a grin. "Sure would like to, in fact, oddly enough, we're going to Paris ourselves. I got three tickets here with some extra, but the third main one is for her..." he pointed to the painted portrait behind them. "Anastasia."

Anya looked curious. She looked to Mike, Lu, and Og, but they only shrugged. They still couldn't reveal they knew who she really was, Anya had to find out for herself and they had to make sure she would do it.

"We are going to reunite the Grand Duchess Anastasia with her grandmother." Vlad explained.

Dmitri took the new people along. "You do kind of resemble her."

"The same blue eyes, the Romonov eyes, Nicholas's smile, Alexandra's chin... Oh, look," Vlad then took Anya's hands. "She even has the grandmother's hands."

"Wow..." Mike whispered, not only Anya was apart of this clan, but she was herself, even if she would be born hundreds of years later.

After Vlad and Dmitri tried to convince Anya, the woman had enough and refused to believe it. "Are you trying to tell me that you think I'm Anastasia?"

Dmitri turned to her. "All that I'm trying to tell you is that I've seen thousands of girls all over the country, and not one of them looks as much like the Grand Duchess as you. I mean, look at the portrait!" He made the woman look to it, it was the truth, even if the woman didn't realize it.

"I knew you were crazy from the beginning," Anya rolled her eyes. "But, now I think you're both mad! Come on, guys." She told her younger friends.

"Why?" Dmitri wanted to know why she wouldn't believe herself. "You don't remember what happened to YOU!"

"No one knows what happened to her." Vlad added.

"They might be on to something." Mike said to Anya, knowing what these men said was true.

"Yeah, you're looking for your family in Paris and Anastasia's only family is in Paris!" Lu added.

"Why won't you believe them, Anya?" Og finished.

"Have you ever thought about the possibility?" Dmitri put in, he felt strongly confident that the kids believed him even if he didn't know who they were.

Anya looked to her young friends and to the two men. "That I could be royalty?" She still refused to listen to them. She looked down and saw that even Pooka believed in the extremely true possibility. "Well, it's kind of hard to think of yourself as a duchess when you sleep on a damp floor."

"Anya, listen to me," Lu walked up to the woman, gently squeezing her hand and looking into her eyes. "Every lonely girl would hope to be a princess. And somewhere, one little girl is. I often wished I could be a princess, my parents say I'm their little princess, but sometimes I wish I could be the real princess."

Mike and Og were shocked and touched about what Lu just said. They would never expect her to say anything like that. Not in a million years.

"After all," Vlad added with a smile. "The name Anastasia means 'she will rise again'."

Dmitri took a look at his watch. He seemed very impatient about Anya's hesitence and all this talking with them not going to Paris right away like he had planned. "Really wish we could help," he said with a sneaky grin, though he wasn't a bad guy. "But the ticket is for the Grand Duchess Anastasia. Good luck."

Anya blinked, then looked to her friends who encouraged her to go along with Dmitri and Vlad with them. She looked to them with a smile, then looked to the portrait of Anastasia as Dmitri and Vlad left.

"So, what are you going to do, Anya?" Og asked.

Anya sighed. "Well, I guess I have to go then..."

"We'll go with you." Mike said with a smile.

"Right, you guys are coming too," Anya smiled, then looked as the two men were leaving. "Dmitri!"

"Hey, Dmitri, wait up!" Lu called out.

The man came to them right then. "Did you call me?"

"If I don't remember who I am, then who's to say I'm not a princess, or a duchess, right?" Anya questioned to symbolize she was going go with him and Vlad with her new friends.

Dmitri nodded, gesturing for her to continue.

"If I'm not Anastasia, the Empress will know right away," Anya continued. "And it's all just an honest mistake."

"Sounds pleasurable." Dmitri approved as Anya came downstairs with Pooka, Mike, Lu, and Og.

Vlad wrapped his arm around Anya, looking most delighted. "But, if you are the princess, then you'll finally know who you are and you'll have your family back!"

Mike, Lu, and Og cheered about that. That was really great news.

"Either way, it gets you to Paris." Dmitri replied.

"Right!" Anya shook his hand happily.

"May I present the Grand Duchess Anastasia!" Dmitri proclaimed, making everyone very happy.

"Let's hit the road then!" Mike added in delight.


	4. Chapter 4

Despite Dmitri's protests, Mike, Lu, Og, and Anastasia refused to go to Paris without Pooka. As they were going, there was a white bat named Bartok watching everything. He also overheard that when Mike, Lu, and Og were alone was that they were on a mission and that Mike was a descendant of Anastasia. The bat flew and went to find his master, Rasputin. Due to Rasputin coming to back to life and the word of Anastasia being back, he planned to make it so his prophecy can be fulfilled and the last of the Romonovs would die. The bat was ranting to himself and before he knew it, Rasputin was indeed brought back.

* * *

"Bartok?" a raspy voice asked. "Is that you?"

The white bat gasped once he got himself settled and saw the rotting remains of his boss. "Master, you're alive?"

"Yes," Rasputin revealed himself with his mangy black hair and sickly grin spin in ripped and tattered robes. "In a matter of speaking."

Bartok looked up, then cringed and winced since Rasputin's eye popped out of its socket. "Whoa! That fell right out there, sir."

"Something's happened." Rasputin remarked as he took his eye and put it back in place.

"Yeah..." Bartok looked really sheepish and nervous.

"I knew it!" Rasputin grinned darkly. "I could feel the dark forces stirring!"

"I'm not surprised, because I saw her," Bartok replied. "Anastasia, and these three kids who aren't from this time apparently. The red-headed one claims to be a direct descendant of Anastasia herself!"

"Anastasia!?" Rasputin was no doubt enraged. "Alive!? And she has descendants!?"

"Uh, sir..." the bat backed up since Rasputin's mouth dropped. "Your lips... They're..."

"THAT ROMONOV BRAT!" Rasputin snarled.

Bartok moved the lips back in place, though he was very disgusted to do so. "Yeah, ain't that the kick in the head?" He smiled nervously. "I guess a curse just ain't what it used to be."

"That's why we're stuck here in limbo!" Rasputin stormed off. "My curse is unfulfilled! Look at me!" His body was decaying, rotting, and slipping apart quick. "I'm falling apart, I'm a wreck!"

Bartok cringed a bit and came close to the fallen man. He gently offered a sympathetic ear and tried to motivate his boss into doing what he would do best. "Actually, considering how long you've been dead, sir, you look pretty good..."

Rasputin refused to listen and found himself sobbing noisily.

"You do, sir, you do!" Bartok repeated, even more encouragingly.

Rasputin blinked, deciding to listen this time. "Really?"

Bartok gave a nod. "Sir, is this the face of a bat who would lie to you? Come on, for a minute there, you had your old spark back!"

Rasputin didn't feel too much better now, but he did get off his lazy and sad butt. "Before I lost the gift from the dark forces... The key to my powers!"

"What?" Bartok observed as he took out what Rasputin had been looking for all this time. "You mean this requilery?"

"WHERE DID YOU GET THAT!?" Rasputin sounded amazed and pleased.

"I found it." Bartok informed with a smile.

"Give it to me!" Rasputin demanded.

"Alright, alright," Bartok hesitated a moment before handing it over. "Don't get so grabby!"

Rasputin took it and felt very pleased. "My old friend... Together again..." he had an evil chuckle as he felt completely motivated. "Now my dark purpose will be fulfilled... And the last of the Romonovs will **DIE**!"

There was a dark blast of green thunder then. Rasputin was now planning with Bartok about how he was going to go after the case in the dark of the night. He was going to get rid of Mike too, she was essential to the plan as well.


	5. Chapter 5

The next morning, the group met up to leave into Paris, the city of lights. Vlad was getting travel papers for them together as the other parts of the group were together and getting prepared for Anya's coronation. Mike, Lu, and Og were preparing and giggling at the little interactions between Anya and Dmitri.

It was amusingly adorable. Dmitri was giving Anya some proper manners and the education to be a grand duchess while Anya just slouched and was being like the urchin she believed she was.

"You think you're ready for this?" Mike asked Anya.

Anya shrugged. "I guess I have no real choice. Dmitri, how is it that you know what a Grand Duchess does or doesn't do?"

Dmitri glanced at her. "I make it my business to know."

Anya rolled her eyes and looked away from him.

Dmitri sighed as he came to the three kids and woman. "Look, Anya, I'm just trying to help, alright?"

Mike, Lu, and Og looked at them, then looked over to see Vlad coming toward them.

"Dmitri," Anya spoke up, trying to sound innocent. "Do you really think I'm royalty?"

"You know I do," Dmitri smiled. "Your friends believe in you too."

"Well, then for you, STOP BOSSING ME AROUND!" Anya nearly snarled at this man she just met today.

"Just like an old married couple..." Mike observed Anya and Dmitri's interactions.

Og yawned and found himself falling asleep during their tide. Mike's eyes felt heavy and she fell asleep too. Lu kept talking about herself and random events, but then she found herself falling asleep. Anya and Dmitri kept their voices low as they kept talking and allowed the three kids to sleep until they would get into Paris.

* * *

The kids woke up a little earlier than they expected. When they woke up, Anya was reading a book and Dmitri sat quietly acoss from her. He looked very lost. Mike, Lu, and Og then made gestures for him to talk to her.

Dmitri looked at them, then decided to speak up to the woman. "Look... I think we got off on the wrong foot."

Anya looked back. "Well... I think we did too."

Mike, Lu, and Og then smiled. Dmitri nodded.

"But, I appreciate your apology." Anya gave a shrug.

"Apology!?" Dmitri stood up which made Mike, Lu, and Og look worried for a moment. "Who said anything about an apology? I was just saying-"

Anya got mad and interrupted him. "Don't talk to me anymore, okay?! It's only going to upset me!"

The three kids looked very worried that Anastasia and Dmitri were fighting. Mike just hoped this wouldn't affect their timeline and it would be a threat to her being born. When Vlad came to see things, Anya yelled that she wanted Dmitri out of her sight.

"What have you done to her?" Vlad glared at Dmitri.

"Me!?" Dmitri glared back. "It's her!"

Anya growled and stormed off, going to the cabin inside the train and slammed the door. The three kids blinked and were very worried. Would this be a bad sign for their future as well? Vlad and Dmitri went off.

"You guys think everything will be okay in the end?" Mike asked her friends.

"They should be..." Og replied gently. "They usually do..."

"Yeah, Mike, everything will be just fine." Lu assured, actually being a good friend to the New York girl. "Hm, that's weird..."

"What's up?" Mike looked to the island girl.

"There's weird green stuff out the window." Lu gestured with her thumb outside.

Mike and Og went with Lu to take a look. It looked like there were glowing green parasites of some type. They appeared to be going on top.

"This cannot be good..." Og murmured, a bit nervous.

Vlad had already went off. The three kids looked at him.

"We should tell someone..." Lu said a little on the edge.

"Yeah, but how?" Mike asked. "No one listens to kids!"

Pooka barked wildly out the window. He seemed to notice it too and he wanted the parasites to be gone. Dmitri went to wake Anya up, but she had accidentally punched him right in the nose, making him groan and grunt.

"Oh, sorry, I thought you were someone el-" Anya sounded sorry, then she stopped once she saw Dmitri in pain. "Oh, it's you. Well, that's okay then."

"Come on, we gotta go." Dmitri held Anya's hand, pulling her into a standing position.

"You think he saw those green things?" Og asked his girl friends.

"Where are we going?" Anya asked as Mike, Lu, and Og followed Dmitri, Vlad, and Pooka to a new part of the train.

"I think you broke my nose..." Dmitri groaned.

"She _is _related to you." Lu whispered to Mike with a giggle.

Anya sighed as she went, getting on her coat and scoffed to Dmitri. "Men are such babies..."

Pooka still yipped as they went off.

* * *

"Ah, yes," Dmitri smiled as they came into the baggage cart. "Yes, this will do nicely."

"The baggage cart!?" Mike nearly snapped. "Ya gotta be kiddin'!"

"She'll freeze in here..." Vlad whispered, rubbing his arms for warmth.

"She can thaw in Paris." Dmitri retorted.

Anya scoffed when they came into this part of the train. "There wouldn't be anything wrong with our papers, now would there, Maestro?"

"Of course not, your grace," Dmitri attempted to sound proper. "It's just that I hate to see you forced to mingle with all those commoners and your strange friends..." He was about to put his arm around her.

Og knelt down next to Pooka and saw the glowing green stuff. "Guys, it's still coming!"

"What's coming?" Dmitri asked, then suddenly, they were all pushed back and he grunted slightly. "What was that?"

"I don't know," Vlad looked and saw that the train had split in half somehow, probably from those gremlins. "But there goes the dining car."

"I think it's coming closer..." Lu sounded worried.

"This is not good." Mike added.

Dmitri was on top of Anya and they struggled to get up. Mike, Lu, and Og looked with Vlad and saw the train engine had caught on fire. This couldn't be a normal occuerance, it looked like a bad sign for everything to go all downhill from here.

"Mike, is that supposed to happen on a train?" Lu asked nervously.

"Not on the one to my granny's house." Mike looked to her, just as nervous.

"Too bad my tool shack isn't here..." Og muttered.

"Something's not right," Dmitri said, he threw his coat to Anya and the others, then he leaped onto the car to see if he could do anything. "Wait here, I'll check it out!"

"Dmitri, be careful!" Lu sounded the most worried for him.

Anya looked around as they were on the crazy train. "We're going way too fast!"

Dmitri jumped back in front of them. "Nobody's driving this train. We're gonna have to jump!"

"Did he say JUMP!?" Lu's eyes popped out of her head.

"Come on, Princess!" Mike took her hand and ran with her.

Og blinked, he picked up Pooka in his arms and he ran with the group.

Vlad and Dmitri got the door open and they looked down to see the railroad tracks and the foggy drop. They would probably die if they stayed on the train and would die if they jumped. Vlad and Dmitri left to disable the car so they could jump properly. Anya looked to Pooka and smiled.

"Guys," Anya said to the three kids. "I have an idea..."

"Uh-oh..." Mike, Lu, and Og said together.

Anya got a stick of lit dynamite out for Dmitri and handed it to him. He put it in the chain and everyone joined together and held each other before it would go off.

"What do they teach you in those orphanages?" Dmitri glanced to Anya, wondering how she knew that would work.

The cars exploded and separated, but still went down the tracks.

"The brakes are out!" Vlad cried.

"Turn harder!" Dmitri yelled as he tried to get the fire out with his coat.

Vlad tried to turn hard, but it ended up breaking the brakes.

"Don't worry," Dmitri shrugged. "We've got plenty of track, we'll just coast to a stop."

However, as he said that, the glowing green monsters formed together and broke the tracks. Everyone got scared and glanced at Dmitri.

"You were saying, pretty boy?" Mike glanced at him.

"I got an idea!" Dmitri ran to the chains, grabbing them. "Vlad, give me a hand with this!"

Vlad fell over, so Mike decided to get the chain once she was told to hand it over.

"Not you!" Dmitri glanced at the young tomboy.

"Vlad's busy at the moment," Mike told him as she handed the chain.

Dmitri let it slide, then grabbed the chain and tried to hook it under the car. It almost disabled and stray parts came for him. Anya then decided to help Dmitri up, and the two caught a glimpse of each other in the eye as Mike stepped back and Anya was able to hold him up. A tree snapped and broke instantly.

"And to think that could've been you." Anya looked to Dmitri.

Dmitri glanced at her and patted himself down. "If we live through this, remind me to thank you."

The chain was put down, but it caught on one of the tracks. The tracks then ripped apart as they were following the disembled train cars. The chains rolled up. Anya made sure everyone was together as they had no other choice.

"Well, this is our stop," Anya said to them.

And with that, everyone jumped off the train and landed into the snow. The train cars caught up with the end of the tracks, fell off the hill and exploded instantly.

"I hate trains," Dmitri growled. "Remind me to never get on the train again."

"Og, if I ever ask you to build a dream, remind me what just happened." Mike added as she panted.

* * *

Meanwhile, Rasputin had been watching the whole thing. He growled and blabbered in serious disappointment. He even grabbed his neck and nearly strangled himself.

Bartok got nervous for him. "Take it easy there. You know, sir, really, you should watch your blood pressure. My nephew Izzy just keeled over one day, mid mango," he smiled, grabbing onto one of Rasputin's hands. "Stress... It's a killer, sir and he's a fruit bat, no meat, no blood, even."

"How could they let them escape!" Rasputin snarled and smashed the skull in his other hand.

"Ah, you're right, it's very upsetting, sir," Bartok said softly. "I guess this reliquery's broken." He picked the trinket it up and decided to fling it.

Rasputin chased after it to keep it from falling and breaking. "You idiot!" He fell to the floor and extended his hand to capture the requilery and held it back, sighing in relief.

"All right now, sir, take it easy there," Bartok attempted to soothe again. "Just remember what I just said to you about stress."

Rasputin grinned, then grabbed the bat in his free hand. "I sold my soul for this... My life... My very existence depends on it... And you, almost destroyed it..." He made the bat face it, growling aggressively.

"I get it, I get it!" Bartok nearly squeaked. "'You break it, you bought it'!"

"See that you remember, you miserable rodent," the man threw him over his shoulder as he held his trinket close.

"Oh, sure, blame the bat," Bartok shrugged as he slid on the ground behind Rasputin. "Blame the bat, what the heck? We're easy targets..."

"What are you muttering about?"

"Anastasia and those modern day kids, sir, just wishing I could do the job for you, sir!" Bartok answered as he did little karate moves.

"Oh, I have something else in mind..." Rasputin grinned darkly. "Something more enticing... Something really cruel..." He let his long claw-like fingernail screech against the requilery as his evil mind cooked up something even more sick and diabolical.


	6. Chapter 6

The group had to go to Paris by foot now after the destruction of the train. Lu kept whining and complaining as they went along, mostly she was hungry or thirsty and that her feet were hurting. She wished Lancelot was here for her to ride on his back and she would dangle some food from a stick and string for him to keep going.

* * *

"We'll take a boat in Germany." Dmitri told them as they kept going.

"Oh, then we're walking to Germany." Anya retorted.

"No, your grace, we're taking a bus." Dmitri corrected.

"A bus," Anya smiled. "That's nice."

"Why don't you two just get married already?" Mike rolled her eyes at Anya and Dmitri's interactions.

The group kept walking. It even lasted more than just a single day to cross the country. They were now crossing a bridge together.

"Sophie, my dear, Vladdy's on his way!" Vlad called as they walked.

"Sophie?" Mike, Lu, and Og asked.

"Who's Sophie?" Anya asked.

"Who's Sophie?" Vlad repeated her, then did a little dance like he was very happy now. "She's a tender little morsel."

Dmitri seemed to be trying to shut Vlad up about this Sophie person.

"A cup of hot chocolate after a long walk in the snow." Vlad continued.

"Vlad, ix-nay on Ophie-say." Dmitri nearly hissed.

"She's a decadent pastry filled with whipped cream and laughter," Vlad continued, ignoring Dmitri.

"Is this a person or a cream puff?" Mike scoffed.

"If she's a cream puff, can I eat her?" Lu begged.

"I believe Sophie is an angel in Vlad's eyes..." Og assumed.

"She is the Empress's ravishing first cousin." Vlad concluded about Sophie.

"But, aren't we going to see the Empress herself?" Mike asked, playing along with this.

"Yeah, why are we going to see her cousin?" Anya added. She then sent a long look on the younger man accompanying them on this long-lasting trip. "Dmitri..."

"Well, nobody gets near the Dowager Empress without convincing Sophie first." Dmitri answered, trying to be classy.

"Oh, no, not me," Anya shook her head. "No, no, nobody ever told me I had to prove I was the Grand Duchess!"

"Look-"

"Show up, yes, look nice, fine, but lie?"

Mike rushed over as Anya was storming away to the bridge. "You don't know it's a lie, it could be true. How would you know, hmm?"

Anya shook her head. "You guys coming?" She asked the kids as she was walking off.

"This appears to be disastrous..." Og murmured.

Dmitri went over, finding out a way to stop Anya. "Okay, so it's one more stop on the road to finding out who you are. I thought this was something you had to see through to the end."

Anya sighed and she turned back. "Look at me, guys... I'm not exactly Grand Duchess material here!"

"Lu's not princess material either, but she never shuts up about it." Mike stated.

Vlad came to Anya as Og came too, the boy had a flower. "Tell me, child. What do you see?"

Og handed the flower to Anya with a small smile.

Anya took the flower and looked down to the river under the bridge as it showed their reflections. "I see a skinny little nobody with no past and no future..." she took Og's flower, and simply dropped it into the water to get washed away.

"That's not what we see," Vlad informed her, referring to him and the children. "We see an engaging and fiery young woman who, on occasion, has shown a regal command, equal to any royal in the world. And, I have known my share of royalty..."

The three kids smiled at that.

"You see, my dear," Vlad continued. "I was a member of the Imperial Court."

Anya blinked and smiled a bit. The three kids were a little surprised, but since Anya was happy again now, that must have been a very good sign on their journey. Dmitri then went to join them with a friendly smile.

"So, are you ready to become the Grand Duchess Anastasia?" Vlad asked the unknown royal.

Anya smiled to him and her new friends, but looked to Dmitri. She was still mad at him and walked from him. The kids watched her go, then glared to Dmitri.

"What?" Dmitri asked, feeling he didn't do anything.

"You know what you did." Lu folded her arms as Mike and Og nodded.

"There is nothing left for you back there," Vlad told Anya. "Everything is in Paris."

* * *

"Come on..." Mike took Anya's hand, looking right into the woman's blue eyes. "Do it... For us..."

Lu and Og smiled friendly.

Anya looked to them, at the two men, then narrowed her eyes in slight determination and smiled. "Gentlemen... Start your teaching."

Vlad smiled. "I remember it well."


End file.
